Tubal Ligation Reversal vs. IVF: Age And Pregnancy Success
Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center specializes in corrective tubal surgery for blocked fallopian tubes and reversal of tubal ligation. This tubal reversal and IVF series is dedicated to women over the age of 40 who are researching pregnancy alternatives. The previous article compared the pregnancy success of IVF vs. tubal reversal surgery.
The first and subsequent articles of our series is Tubal Ligation Reversal After Age 40 | Introduction.
This article discusses pregnancy rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF) vs. tubal ligation reversal as they relate to patient age.
Tubal Ligation Reversal and IVF: Data Sources
IVF data has been obtained from the latest available national statistics complied by the US Center for Disease Control (2006 Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Annual Report).
Tubal ligation reversal data has been obtained from the 2007 Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center Pregnancy Report and is the largest known data base of tubal reversal pregnancy success data in the world.
From 2001 to 2007, over 4000 women have undergone tubal ligation reversal at our tubal reversal center. The tubal reversal pregnancy success rates demonstrated on these graphs are those experienced by patients of Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center and may not be applicable to other tubal reversal providers.
IVF Pregnancy Success: Impact of Age
Our previous article reviews the average chance of having a successful pregnancy when undergoing IVF using fresh, nondonor eggs (patient’s own eggs). The information presented in this article demonstrates the impact of age upon pregnancy success. The average chance of IVF pregnancy success, not considering age, is 35% per cycle.
The graph below is critical to understanding how age impacts the success of IVF when using fresh, nondonor eggs. Any reader considering IVF should be aware of their specific age related chance of success when undergoing IVF. Readers should also keep in mind the average chance of pregnancy success after reversal of tubal ligation is 70%; the success rate of pregnancy after tubal ligation reversal tends to decrease after the age of 40.
Pregnancy is defined as any developing embryo seen in the uterus with ultrasound in the first trimester.
Live birth is the birth of any child which survives (this includes multiples and preterm birth).
Singleton live birth is the birth of any singleton infant which survives (term or preterm).
IVF Pregnancy Success: Explanation
In general, pregnancies (the triangles) are the highest number because women will become pregnant, but some of them will have miscarriages in early pregnancy. Live births (the circles) are the second highest numbers because many IVF patients will have multiple gestation pregnancies (twins or more) and give birth to these infants resulting in more infants born alive (term or preterm). Singleton live births (squares) are generally lower because a smaller portion of IVF pregnancies are singleton births.
IVF Success And Age: Take Home Message
The above graph illustrates how the success rate of IVF, when using fresh nondonor eggs, is heavily dependent on patient age. The IVF nondonor egg birth rate begins a gradual decline between 30-32 and then declines more significantly after 36-38. The IVF live birth rate after the age of 44 comes very close to zero. The average IVF pregnancy rate using nondonor eggs is about 35%. Our previous article discusses the national IVF pregnancy success data in greater detail.
Tubal Ligation Reversal Pregnancy Rates Compared With IVF
The bar graph below represents pregnancy rates for tubal reversal patients of Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center compared to national IVF patients for each of the indicated age groups. In almost every category, our tubal reversal patients demonstrate a higher pregnancy success rate than do national patients who undergo IVF when using fresh, nondonor eggs.
Pregnancy for IVF is defined as any developing embryo seen in the uterus with ultrasound in the first trimester.
Pregnancy for tubal reversal is defined as any patient submitted report to our center of a positive pregnancy test.
Tubal Ligation Birth Rates Compared With IVF
The bar graph below represents live birth rates for our tubal reversal patients compared to national IVF patients for each of the indicated age groups. In almost every category, our tubal reversal patients demonstrate a higher birth rate than do national patients who undergo IVF.
Birth rates for tubal reversal or IVF are for any surviving infant born either term or preterm.
Tubal Ligation Reversal vs. IVF: Take Home Message
The live birth rate is the best comparison when trying to compare between tubal ligation reversal and IVF because a live birth is what patients really want. The statistics compiled from our extensive patient database of over 4000 tubal reversal patients over the last six years clearly demonstrate Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center patients do similar, if not better, at obtaining pregnancy success when compared to the national average of patients who undergo IVF using nondonor eggs.
The average chance of pregnancy success is 70% after tubal reversal and 35% after a single cycle of IVF and both treatments are adversely impacted upon by age.
We stopped performing IVF in the mid 1990’s and decided to concentrate on helping to serve women who are unable to conceive because of tubal ligation or tubal blockage. Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center specializes in corrective tubal surgery for tied or blocked fallopian tubes.
The next article in our series, On Tubal Reversal: IVF Or Sterilization Reversal, will compare the success of IVF after the age of 40 when using donor and nondonor eggs.
Readers are invited to join discussions with other women on our Tubal Reversal Message Board.
October 29th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
[...] the IVF rates are available from the CDC, pregnancy after tubal reversal surgery at the Chapel Hill [...]
April 24th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
[...] next article in this series will discuss pregnancy success of both tubal ligation reversal and IVF based on age of the patient. Understanding the information in this next article is critical to understanding the chance of [...]
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:54 pm
[...] most recent and very important article compares pregnancy rates after IVF (in vitro fertilization) and tubal ligation reversal when patient age is [...]
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:52 pm
[...] most recent and very important article compares pregnancy rates after IVF (in vitro fertilization) and tubal ligation reversal when patient age is [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
[...] we have also presented statistics on the average chance of of IVF success as well as the chance of IVF success in older women using either nondonor and donor [...]
March 31st, 2009 at 10:00 am
[...] data has previously been reported on in our blog series: average per cycle IVF pregnancy rate and IVF age dependent pregnancy rates. We also provide a comprehensive overview of IVF risk and [...]
March 23rd, 2009 at 7:30 am
[...] We strongly encourage readers to visit our ongoing series about tubal surgery after the age of 40. This series has information about IVF pregnancy rates compared with tubal surgery pregnancy rates. [...]
March 17th, 2009 at 11:24 am
The definitions and graphs are especially helpful in understanding the terminology of IVF. Not losing sight of the desired outcome-a child-is the focus of the discussion and advantage of the tubal reversal statistics.
March 14th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Very informative! This will help women understand the relationship between age and pregnancy success of tubal ligation reversal compared with in vitro fertilization. Thank you, Dr. Monteith.
March 14th, 2009 at 4:47 am
Thank you Dr Monteith for this comprehensive comparison. This will be very helpful for woman investigating tubal ligation reversal.
March 13th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
This blog addresses a very common theme among our patients and potential patients. Thanks Dr. Monteith.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Another great article, Dr. Monteith. Women over 40 will especially appreciate this information.